"Within weeks, some of the most important monuments, works of art and written archives of the history of East and West could be at risk."

"If war breaks out in Iraq, the dangers threatening a cultural heritage - which matters not only to the land where the monuments stand and the artistic treasures were excavated, but also to our world - will be manifold."

"At least as damaging as North Korea's departure [from the non-proliferation ban] have been successive moves by Washington to distance itself from nuclear disarmament."

"In the run-up to the Iraq war, the US President, George Bush, signed National Security Presidential Directive 17, which said: 'The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force – including potentially nuclear weapons....' "

"The assurances were considered vital in discouraging states from developing their own nuclear weapons.""More and more states are likely to buy the argument that the only way to be secure in a unipolar world is to go down the nuclear road – 'to pre-empt pre-emption', one analyst said." 4-03

"The Palestinian government said yesterday that Ariel Sharon had jeopardised last month's ceasefire by rejecting President Bush's plea to stop building his security fence through the West Bank."

"Mr Bush left a meeting with the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, last week saying the fence was a problem, but after seeing Mr Sharon at the White House on Tuesday he said merely that he had urged him to 'carefully consider all the consequences'. " 7-03

"Many of the world's natural underground reservoirs are diminishing rapidly, threatening the drinking water of millions of people and compounding the ravaging effects of drought and famine, the United Nations warned Wednesday."

"The United Nations called on governments to curb the use of groundwater through regulation. Worldwide action was needed to ensure that countries relying on irrigation diversify away from water hungry crops, the report added." 9-03

"Fortune magazine rightly declared paperless voting the worst technology of 2003, but it's not just a bad technology — it's a threat to the republic."

"So what should be done? Representative Rush Holt has introduced a bill calling for each machine to produce a paper record that the voter verifies. The paper record would then be secured for any future audit. The bill requires that such verified voting be ready in time for the 2004 election — and that districts that can't meet the deadline use paper ballots instead. And it also requires surprise audits in each state." 11-04

"Pacifiers aren't just for soothing colicky babies anymore. A new study has found that use of a pacifier during sleep reduced the chances of a baby suffering from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) by 90 percent. Furthermore, pacifiers eliminated the increased risk associated with babies who slept on their stomach or in soft bedding--factors that have been shown to increase the risk of SIDS as much as 10-fold."

"Myths persist that the use of pacifiers (or thumb sucking) will affect tooth development or the infant's ability to take to breast-feeding, but by simply waiting a few weeks to start using a pacifier and stopping when the baby becomes a toddler such impacts can be avoided, Li notes." 12-05.

"Older people who exercise three or more times a week are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, according to a study that adds to the evidence that staying active can help keep the mind sharp."

"Researchers found that healthy people who reported exercising regularly had a 30 to 40 percent lower risk of dementia."

"Taking calcium and vitamin D supplements for several years can help older women reduce the risk of hip fractures, according to the results of a long-term, comprehensive, federally funded study by the Women's Health Initiative."

"Worried about stricter regulations, the chromium industry withheld key data from the government involving the health risks of workers exposed to the carcinogenic metal, according to a study released Thursday."

"Currently, OSHA regulations cap chromium levels at work to 52 micrograms per cubic meter. It supports restricting levels to 1 microgram per cubic meter, which is slightly lower than 'intermediate' exposure levels of 1.5 to 16.0, according to the paper." 02-06

"More than 1,000 Iraqis who live south of Baghdad within the bombed and looted complex that was once the centre of Saddam Hussein's nuclear programme are at acute risk of radioactive poisoning, the UN's nuclear authority said yesterday." 04-06

"BPA — sometimes indicated by a number 7 on products — is found mostly in strong plastics, such as nondisposable water bottles, baby bottles and in the lining of canned foods."

"BPA — sometimes indicated by a number 7 on products — is found mostly in strong plastics, such as nondisposable water bottles, baby bottles and in the lining of canned foods."

"While the Food and Drug Administration and the American Plastics Council insist BPA is safe, an outspoken biology professor and other scientists believe it may bring all kinds of harm — such as cancer, early puberty, obesity and even attention-deficit disorder." 07-06

"In recognition of enterprise, courage and leadership in advancing the freedom and responsibility of the press, enhancing human rights and fostering excellence in journalism, our 2005-2006 choice honors three Mexican journalists posthumously."

"Raúl Gibb Guerrero, Dolores Guadalupe García Escamilla and Alfredo Jiménez Mota gave the ultimate sacrifice in their pursuit of journalistic excellence and freedom of press. Their courage, tenacity, and dedication in covering sensitive subjects, especially drug trafficking, caused them to live in a danger zone of threats and violence, which ultimately led to their murders. They led three very separate lives, but had the love of their country and press freedom in common." 05-07

"Politically, President Bush has reached the point all gamblers fear: being so far down that higher stakes start to look worth the risk. Public support for his handling of the war in Iraq is already abysmal, with 70% against him and only 25% still in his camp. So perhaps he felt he had very little to lose when Wednesday, in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City, Mo., he effectively doubled down, arguing not only that America needs to stay in Iraq until a stable democracy can take root, but also implying we should have done the same in Vietnam a generation ago." 08-07

"Doctors have long known that vitamin D is essential to good health. Get enough of it and it ensures strong bones and teeth. But a new study this week suggests an even more extraordinary benefit: a lower risk of death." 09-07

"Climate change is affecting Europe faster than the rest of the world and rising temperatures could transform the Mediterranean into a salty and stagnant sea, Italian experts said Wednesday. Warmer waters and increased salinity could doom many of the sea's plant and animal species and ravage the fishing industry, warned participants at a two-day climate change conference that brought together some 2,000 scientists and officials in Rome." 04-10

"New research, though, suggests women may be able to lower their risk of recurrence by taking steps to reduce their estrogen levels. A study of more than 300 breast cancer patients found that those whose cancer came back within seven years had estrogen levels on average that were twice as high as those found in women who remained cancer free; this was true even for those taking tamoxifen." 03-08

"A study appearing Monday in the journal Neurology found that statins dramatically reduced the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease among a group of subjects 60 years and older. 'It suggests that if you took statins before dementia set in, you might be 50% less likely to develop the condition,' says Mary Haan, an epidemiology professor at the University of Michigan and the study's lead author. 'That's a really big effect.' " 07-08